Work in Progress
by dawnlight55
Summary: Title may change since I'm not that creative. AU, slightly OOC (for some parts) (though mainly due to the lack of characterization on the show for the secondary characters). The Winx Club living normal lives on Earth as humans not fairies. Rated T for language, some sexual references. First Fanfiction (Yay!)
1. Chapter 1

The can in front of the girl was given another shove until it shot out in front of her feet. Her midnight black hair trailed behind her and swayed dejectedly in the wind. Her back was slightly hunched over so she could hide her watering eyes and warm, red face. She had never been so embarrassed in her life. He wasn't supposed to yell at her like that in front of his friends. She was just the messenger. At that moment she hated Darcy. Absolutely hated her, she knew that Darcy was her friend and all, but why had Darcy told, no ordered, her to tell him? She didn't even know the guy that well, okay so that was a lie. Since her head was down she didn't see the buff chest looming ahead of her and instead walked right through the brick wall-like chest.

"Uhff," she yelled in surprise. She was sent flying back and landed on her butt. She was afraid to look up, not knowing if it was the vengeful boyfriend coming back to spite her.

Cautiously, the girl rose up her face and set her piercing dark, navy blue eyes on the man in front of her. She let a small yelp when she realized it was exactly the vengeful ex-boyfriend that she was trying to avoid.

She quickly scrambled up onto her feet, scraping both knees and her arms in the process. Internally, she cursed the pavement for being so rough.

"What do you want?" she stammered, trying to add a hint of a threat in her voice.

A small rumble came from the man's throat as she realized he was chuckling, at her. She narrowed her eyes in annoyance at the sound coming from the man's diaphragm.

"Why are you here?" she stuttered, attempting to get him to explain himself so that she would not have to worry. Her voice, although she was trying to hide it, was laced with worry.

"Why?" he asked simply. He took a step back as if to tell her he came in peace. As he stepped back he folded his arms in front of him and raised an eyebrow at her awaiting her answer.

"What do you mean?" the girl asked flabbergasted. She wasn't sure why he had followed her. He had flipped out and had yelled at her, steam coming from his ears and everything. It wasn't her fault that Darcy had broken up with him. He had screamed at her, had made fun of her almond-shaped eyes, and had cursed her for all eternity. She wasn't going to lie, his tongue stung her core. It hurt that he could be that wicked. She would never have told Darcy, because Darcy was, well Darcy, but she liked him. At least she thought she did. She never knew that he could be that hateful towards someone, and it wasn't even her fault. It wasn't her fault that Darcy was being Darcy and had sent her second in command to tell her boyfriend that they were done and that she had cheated on him with one of his rivals. She wasn't even sure why Darcy had decided to do that. Darcy had always seemed happy; she always rubbed it in the girl's face that she was dating him.

"Why did she do it?" the deep baritone voice that used to send her heart swooning asked again and interrupted the girl's thoughts.

"I don't know?" she squeaked. She was itching to get out of his presence. She was kind of mad at him for blaming her for the breakup. She had thought they were friends. They would always hang out whenever Darcy was late or never showed up to one of their dates. It usually went that he would pick Darcy up from the apartment the two girls shared together, but Darcy would be busy or just not there. The girl and him used to just hang out and watch a movie or would go somewhere. It was just as friends, purely just as friends, much to the girl's displeasure. She was surprised that he had thought that she had something to do with it and she was hurt that he would yell at her for something that was out of her control. She was no longer happy that Darcy had broken up with him; it was easier when he wasn't mad at her.

"It's Darcy," the girl mumbled underneath her breath while giving a little shrug to her delicate shoulders. It was true, it was Darcy. He should have known what Darcy was capable of. He had heard the rumors, had heard the stories, he should have heeded them.

"That's not really an explanation," he grumbled, running his hand through his stylized hair. Musa hadn't been looking straight at him, but stole a glance at his face. His eyes were downcast and seemed a little red. She could see the hurt, confusion and even a little bit of anger in his eyes, although most of the anger had been taken out when he had cursed at her.

"I can't offer you anything more. She didn't tell me, but she started seeing Jared a few days ago," Musa gasped and did a sharp intake when she realized her mistake, that she had just blabbed Darcy's secret, the relationship with Jared. Granted he knew that Darcy was seeing someone else, namely Jared, but he didn't know it has been for a while, when the two were still together.

"What?" his voice thundered around her being. It shook her to the core and the anger that had seeped out of his eyes was once again implanted in the dark purple pupils.

"I have to go," she whimpered as she made a move to step around him.

He stepped into her path and uncrossed his arms. She could feel his hot breath on her face and started to prepare herself for the onslaught of words she was bound to get in a moment.

"I can't believe this," he shouted. She flinched at the loudness of his voice and tried to see around his hulking frame. No one else was walking on the sidewalk and the building that he had followed her out of was surprisingly quiet.

Something snapped inside of her. Call it her temper, call it the pent up emotions she had to hide in front of him, call it the emotions she felt towards Darcy and Darcy's relationships, call it whatever you will.

"Well believe it! You knew the stories about Darcy. You knew what she was capable of. Why didn't you heed the stories? You're so aggravating. You didn't even realize that your whole relationship was a sham. She cheated on you, great; she's been cheating on you. Where do you think she was when she wouldn't show up for your dates? She would call me and tell me to keep you distracted for awhile while she got back. Some days she would just tell me not to bother and tell you that she was visiting her family. You're so gullible, so fucking gullible," she raged on, not caring that she let a curse word fall from her usually innocent mouth. Her chest was heaving up and down and her face was flushed with red rage.

"She wasn't visiting her family?" he asked slightly taken aback.

"No," she replied in a steely voice, "I would always feel bad so I hung out with you."

"I can't believe this," he said again in surprise.

The girl rolled her eyes at him.

"I can't believe you didn't even notice the one person that actually cared for you in front of you all this time," she bitterly whispered under her breath so he wouldn't hear her.

"What?" he asked, looking into her emotionless eyes.

"Nothing," she brushed off his and her comment. She took a step around him and started to walk down the sidewalk, leaving him in a state of shock and anger. She decided that she wouldn't care from then on. She really wouldn't, he had gotten himself into the mess, and he could get himself out. He didn't need her; he probably didn't even know she existed.

* * *

"Darcy?" the girl called out into the dimly lit apartment.

She could hear noises from the upstairs bedroom, grunting and screaming to be exact. In disgust she turned around and fled the apartment hoping that by the time she got back Jared and Darcy would have been finished by then, but she wasn't so sure.

She decided to go to the music store; she was in need of some shopping therapy anyways.

When she got there, there was a tall, lanky blond who was arguing with Andy, the manager of the store. Andy wasn't much older than her, maybe a year or so.

The girl walked up to the counter and stood next to the blond, ready to interfere if Andy needed help. Sometimes that was all she thought she was good for, to be someone's sidekick, to be their help.

"I can't believe you don't carry her," the blond gasped in surprise.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't even heard of her," Andy shrugged.

"She's only one of the up and coming singers in today's music and I need to get my hands on one of her CD's," the blond chided Andy.

"Who is it?" the girl piped in.

Both the blond and Andy turned to look at the girl. Andy smiled in his genuine way while the blond looked at her suspiciously.

"Are you trying to get her CD because it's only for me," the blond snapped threateningly.

"I told you we don't have her CD," Andy frowned and sighed in exasperation.

"Who are you anyways?" the blond turned from Andy to the girl.

"My name's Musa," the girl replied.

"Oh my goodness! You're her!" the blond squealed.

"What?" Musa asked although she was pretty sure of the response she was going to get.

"I am like your number one fan! I can't believe it's you," the blond shouted in delight.

"Who is she?" Andy asked with a puzzled look on his face.

"Nevermind," Musa quickly said while pulling the blond from the counter to a section far from the counter.

"I can't believe it. It's you right? Musa, the up and coming singer of tomorrow," the blond laughed hysterically in joy.

"Yes," Musa conceded. She was met with another squeal of delight.

"My name's Stella," the blond said.

"Nice to meet you Stella," Musa replied. She figured that she couldn't keep the secret any longer on who she was. She was glad that her manager agreed to not show her face on the CD cover. Apparently the CD and her music had tested better than she had thought though. Musa wasn't exactly happy with the notion that her life would no longer be private because of screaming fans.

"Do you know when I get my hands on your CD?" Stella asked.

"They're not coming out for another week which is why Andy probably didn't know who you were talking about, but I have a few extra copies at my apartment if you want one so badly," Musa smiled. She kind of liked the bubbly blond. Stella was to say the least amusing.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Stella screamed.

"Come on, it's not that far away from here," Musa shrugged nonchalantly.

Musa led Stella a few blocks away from the music store where her apartment was located.

Luckily when they reached the apartment Darcy and Jared had called it quits for the time being. They walked into Jared, shirtless, making him something to eat.

"Where's Darcy?" Musa asked curiously.

"Upstairs," Jared shrugged.

Musa shot him a glare before leading the blond down the hallway to her room.

"Here," Musa said, handing Stella an unassuming CD.

"Thank you," Stella said again, "you should come out with my friends tonight for karaoke. You'd probably be amazing and you'd have a lot of fun."

"Thanks, but I've had a long day. Maybe another time," Musa mumbled, "here's my card though," Musa said handing Stella a card with her information on it. Stella wasn't bad, she was pretty funny actually.

"Thanks," Stella said as she bounded out of the apartment.

"Yup," Musa replied as she shut the door.

"Who was that?" Jared asked.

When Musa turned around he was a few inches from her and she had almost rammed into his bare chest.

"A fan," Musa shrugged. She was slightly shaken up at his close proximity so she took a step away from him.

"Interesting," Jared mused.

"Jared?" a sultry voice came from upstairs.

"Well, duty calls," Jared gave Musa a wink before he ran up the stairs to where Darcy was waiting.

Musa breathed out a sigh of relief. She didn't really like Jared. He seemed nice and all, but there was something about him that Musa felt was fake.

All of a sudden there was a pounding on the door. Musa, being near the door opened it up to see a fuming ex-boyfriend.

"Where is she?" the boy raged.

"You shouldn't be here," Musa pointed out calmly despite being able to feel his anger.

"Musa, where is she?" he repeated himself.

"Riven, go home," Musa sighed. She was standing in his way, barring him from getting inside.

"I need to talk with her," he growled.

"I don't think that's a good idea," she replied hesitantly, knowing exactly what was going on in the upstairs bedroom.

"Musa, let me in," Riven ordered.

"I can't do that," Musa stood her ground. She began to close the door. She couldn't close it the last few inches though because he had stuck his foot in the door. In exasperation she grabbed her purse off the side table beside the door and walked out the door, causing him to back up and remove his foot to avoid being on top of her.

When she got out she quickly turned around and locked the apartment door behind her.

"Come on," she turned to him and grabbed his arm, swallowing a flutter in her heart.

"What?" he snapped.

"You are not going in there to talk to her right now. You can go later. Right now you need to calm down and have a little fun and I know where you can do that," Musa replied. She dragged him through the apartment building until they got to her car.

"So are you going to come or not," she released him, giving him the choice of whether or not he wanted to go with her.

"Fine," he grumbled, he pretending to look displeased with the situation.

"Alright then, get in," she said, turning away from him and concentrating on the car.

"You took me to an amusement park?" Riven asked skeptically.

"Trust me, you need it," Musa shrugged. They were waiting in line for tickets and despite his protestation he was actually slightly excited to be able to have a little fun after the whole ordeal he went through.

He had tried to pay for the tickets, but Musa had refused to let him.

"I can pay you back," Riven offered.

"Relax, I have a CD coming out so I have a few extra dollars here and there," Musa shrugged and then chided herself about bringing it up.

"So your music career has finally heated up?" Riven asked.

"I guess it has," Musa shrugged.

They strolled down the crowded sidewalk, their arms brushing each other occasionally as they walked.

"Come one let's go on this one," Riven said veering off to join the line for the roller coaster.

"I'm not sure," Musa said hesitating and standing just off to the side of the line.

"What do you mean?" Riven asked, stopping to look over his shoulder at him.

"I don't really want to go on the roller coaster, but you go ahead. I don't really like roller coasters. Go on," Musa insisted.

Riven nodded then turned back around to face the front of the line. Musa moved to stand off to the side of the line for the ride. She watched as little kids ran around screaming. The little buggers were followed by parents cooing with outstretched hands, attempting to corral them back. Musa turned to look up at the sun; the warmth beat down on her face. She definitely needed the day off.  
"Musa?" a voice wafted up to her ears.

Musa turned around and discovered that it was Andy who was behind her.

"Andy? Weren't you just at the music store?" Musa chuckled.

"I was, but Mitzy and I had this day planned so I closed the store," Andy shrugged.

"So where is the lovely Mitzy?" Musa couldn't help but roll her eyes a bit.

"I know that you don't like her. She's off shopping and I told her that I would wait for her around the roller coaster rides," Andy shook his head at her.

"Sorry, she just was never that nice to me," Musa said a little ashamed that her feelings were made so apparent. It was true, Mitzy was never the nicest human being on earth, in fact she didn't even know how Andy, a really good person, had gotten caught up in a relationship with Mitzy.

"Why are you here?" he questioned.

"I'm here for a friend. He wasn't having a good day so I brought him to the amusement park," Musa replied.

"Aren't you nice? So did that blond ever find what she was looking for?" he asked.

"Yeah, do you what CD she asked for?"

"She asked for a singer named Musa, which is funny because your name is Musa. I thought it was just a coincidence," Andy answered. Andy was also a musician, besides owning a music store. He even had his own band that Musa would occasionally play with. Rather, she would sing with them at the local hangout whenever they invited her to.

"That is funny. Small world," Musa lied to him. She didn't really feel like telling him that the Musa Stella was asking for was indeed the Musa standing in front of him.

"Who's this?" a husky voice weaved its way over to the two friends.

"Huh?" Musa whisked around to come face to face with Riven.

"This is Andy. He's my friend from the music store," Musa replied, "Andy, this is Riven." The two men shook each others' hands and nodded in acknowledgement.

"I better try to find Mitzy, just in case she's done. I'll see you later?" Andy turned to Musa.

"Yeah, I'll probably be in there tomorrow. I need to grab a few music books," she waved him goodbye.

"So why aren't you dating him?" Riven teased, "he's practically you in male form."

"Because he's dating somebody," Musa replied, rolling her eyes, _and because I like someone else, or at least I used to _she thought.

"That's not a good excuse," he joked.

"I'm not a homewrecker, thank you very much" she stuck her tongue out at him.

"How juvenile," he shook his head.

"You should talk," she mocked.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I'm not the one who threw a temper tantrum over the fact that a girl cheated on him even though he knew the stories and rumors," Musa spat. She gasped when she realized that her annoyance had gotten the better of her and she had lashed out.

Riven narrowed his eyes and suddenly looked a lot like the thunder storm he looked like a few hours earlier.

"That was low," he growled.

"But true," Musa squeaked before she lifted her hand to cover her mouth.

"Whatever," Riven grumbled. He pushed his way past the quivering girl and started walking down the path. Musa, not knowing what else to do, quickly turned around to follow him.

"Where are you going?" she risked asking him.

"Home," he replied, his voice cold and steely.

"Look, I'm just calling it how I see it. Sorry for being blunt," she said with an edge of sass in her voice.

"Whatever," he brushed aside her comment.

"Fine, I'll give you a ride," she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

* * *

"Musa, you're home," Darcy gave Musa a look.

"Yeah," Musa yawned.

"So how did my little Riven take it?" Darcy asked, her voice actually laced with curiosity.

This was the question Musa wasn't sure how to answer. She could be truthful and tell Darcy that Riven hadn't taken it well or she could disappoint Darcy and tell her a little white lie, the lie being that Riven took it well and was prepared to move on.

"He took it as well as you would think he would take it," Musa stuttered in response. Despite Riven's mood swings that day, he was still a friend to Musa so she figured she might as well be supportive to him as well as Darcy. It was a game of politics and diplomacy.

"Hmm," Darcy mused, "I guess that's alright," she shrugged nonchalantly.

"Where's Jared?" Musa wondered out loud.

"He went home. He had to take a nap," Darcy gave a small chuckle, her voice sounding like nails on a chalkboard to Musa.

"He got that worked up?" Musa's brain not being nice to her, it slipped up and she said what she was thinking before thinking.

"Of course," Darcy winked.

Musa rolled her eyes and shook her head jokingly in disgust, even though on the inside Musa could feel her blood boiling from anger at Darcy for hurting Riven and repulsion at the thought of Darcy with Jared.

"I think I'm going upstairs to go to bed. I'm not feeling too well. See you in the morning," Musa yawned again for good measure and then turned around without a second glance at Darcy. She made her way upstairs and when she reached her bed she jumped in and sank into the mattress in simple pleasure.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I do not own the Winx Club in any way…if I did the secondary characters would get a lot more action in the series, but that's just me J

**Author's Note**: It's been a few days (in the story) since the ending of the last chapter. This takes place over the course of a day (café=morning). There will be parts of the day missing.

* * *

"I have a question," the blond girl looked at Musa expectantly.

"What?" Musa let out a small groan. It's not that she didn't like Stella, she just didn't like the barrage of questions she was facing. It was like a police interrogation with a peppy blond rather than a serious cop.

"What was your inspiration for this album? I have to know. It's just so great that I have to know how you were inspired to write the songs you did. They felt so real. The one about being in love with your best friend's boyfriend just hit close to the heart," Stella let out a giggle after her question, presumably in sheer pleasure that she was in the presence of the rising superstar, even if that rising superstar didn't want the status.

"Past experiences," Musa mumbled, avoiding eye contact and taking a sip of the coke that was in front of her.

"You are going to love my friends," Stella pealed.

All Musa could do was shake her head at Stella's ability to be distracted or bored with a topic.

"Here they come," Stella bounced up and down on her seat, gripping Musa's sleeve and pointing to a group of great-looking girls.

"Hey Stell," a tall, lanky redhead called out to the blond.

"Hey girls," Stella squealed.

"Who's this?" a girl with tan skin and brown hair asked. Her voice sounded soothing and almost sounded as if it was Mother Nature, if Mother Nature had a voice.

"This is Musa," Stella pointed to the girl sitting across from her at the round table, "this is the up and coming singer that I have been talking about."

"Hi, I'm Bloom," the redhead stuck her hand out for Musa to shake. Musa took the hand and gave it a little pump up and down.

"Musa," Musa replied, flashing a glimpse of her smile.

"This is Flora," Stella pointed to the tanned girl, "this is Layla," Stella said, turning towards the dark-skinned girl with dark brown hair.

"Hey," Layla shot her hand up in the air in greetings.

"And the pink haired girl is Tecna," Stella pointed to the spunky girl that held a phone in her hand.

"Sorry," Tecna said, putting the phone in her pocket, "nice to meet you."

"This is quite the group," Musa mumbled under her breath.

It certainly was. The group was a large group of fresh-out-of-college aged girls. Despite the large crowd, Musa did like the group. They were nice, her age and seemed down to earth even though they kept getting catcalls and various prepaid drinks from the gentlemen around the café/bar.

"Listen, I have to go, but if you guys want to come see me perform sometime, I'm performing with a band at the Fruity Music Bar next Saturday," Musa said while getting up from the table.

"That would be awesome," Stella squealed in excitement.

"Okay, I guess I'll see you guys there," Musa muttered before hightailing it out of the café. As much as she liked the girls, she also liked the solitude of being alone.

She walked slowly back to her apartment since the café hadn't been that far away, only about a fifteen minute brisk walk, or a twenty to twenty five minute stroll. It had been relaxing to walk through the streets of the town that she loved so much. It was a way for her to clear her head. Unfortunately or fortunately for her she happened to forget that Riven lived about five minutes away from the café and lived in the direction Musa was walking, which is why it was no surprise that she was caught way off guard by his appearance in her central vision.

"Uhff," she puffed. The air escaping from her lungs in that split second.

"Sorry," Riven mumbled, running his hand nervously through his hair.

"What are you doing? This is the second time you decided to get in my way which has caused me to get injured in some way," Musa chided, being a little over dramatic.

Riven rolled his eyes in mock annoyance.

"Stop being a drama queen, it's weird since you aren't one and it doesn't fit you quite well," Riven said in his husky voice.

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes and made to walk around him.

"Look, I'm not too good at this but I, uh, wanted to, well, er, apologize for my, uh, behavior yesterday. It really wasn't your fault and I shouldn't have yelled at you, uh, twice," Riven's words came out as quickly as a turtle crossing a road.

"Wait, you're actually apologizing?" Musa's voice dripped in sarcasm. It wasn't like her to be this snarky, but given recent events she couldn't help but rub it in his face that he was wrong. He was too cocky and it was a blessing, for him, that this event humbled him, a lot.

"Yes," his tone was strained and his face was beet red.

"Well I guess I have no choice but to," Musa paused for dramatic effect, "accept your apology, but seriously how could you not heed the warnings?"

"She was hot," Riven shrugged his shoulders.

"You're such a guy," Musa shook her head in mock disappointment.

"Where are you off to?" he asked.

"Home, I have to meet up with Darcy. Apparently we're going shopping, just my luck," Musa let out a labored groan.

"Well have fun with Darcy," Riven said stiffly.

"See you later," Musa quickly sidestepped around him and began walking towards the direction she was supposed to be going.

It wasn't that long before Musa had reached the apartment complex.

"Musa, you're back," Darcy drawled.

"Yeah," Musa mumbled. Darcy may have been her long time friend, but Musa couldn't help but be angry and annoyed at Darcy.

"My sisters are coming for the weekend," Darcy remarked.

"Stormy and Icy?"

"Yeah, they're here to visit. I haven't been home in a while," Darcy shrugged.

"Okay. I have to go somewhere this weekend so give them my regards," Musa replied, thankfully she didn't have to deal with the sisters. They weren't the nicest of people; they were very much like Darcy.

"Where are you going?" Darcy inquired.

"Somewhere with Andy and the band," Musa lied. Darcy didn't need to know that Musa had to fly out of Gardenia and go to LA to start recording her new album.

"Andy? Is he still around here?" Darcy asked with surprise. The three of them had grown up in Gardenia together and even though Andy and Darcy hated each other, they still demanded to know what was going on with the other. This probably had to do with the fact that they had dated for a while in high school.

"Yup, he's still here," Musa replied. She made her way to the kitchen to grab herself a glass of water.

Darcy shrugged and headed for the stairs which led up to her bedroom which left Musa alone in the kitchen.

"Are you ready to go?" Darcy called down to Musa.

"Whenever you are," Musa replied. She opened the cupboard to grab the bottle of Ibuprofen that was stored there. To ease her growing headache, that would probably get larger at the mall, Musa popped two of the pills and then put the bottle back in its original place.

"Okay then, let's go," Darcy said, she walked down the stairs wearing a skimpy tube top, short, cut-off jean shorts and a pair of tall black high heels. Dangling from her arm was a black purse.

"Are we taking your car or mine?" Musa asked. She looked down at her own attire and could have laughed. In comparison to Darcy's outfit, Musa could have looked like a nun.

Musa wore a black short sleeved t-shirt. It looked like a gym shirt and was not fitted tightly on her body. On the front of the shirt was a silver treble clef and on the back was a silver bass clef. She wore dark wash jean capris and black converse.

"Yours. What are you wearing?" Darcy critiqued.

"I'm wearing something that's comfy," Musa looked down at her shirt and pants combo, "what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing," Darcy gave Musa a look that said it wasn't nothing, "maybe that's why you don't have a boyfriend," Darcy mumbled under her breath. Musa, however, heard Darcy's remark thanks to her great hearing. She rolled her eyes at Darcy's antics. It was the phenomenon that when you started to hate something about someone, everything they do annoys you and that was what was happening. Musa discovered that she hated that Darcy made her break up with Darcy's boyfriends and suddenly Musa was beginning to hate Darcy in general terms.

"Come on," Musa pushed past her roommate and walked down the hallway towards the elevator to the garage where her car was parked.

"So have you heard anything about Riven?" Darcy asked with curiosity.

"Why are you so obsessed with him?" Musa turned to look at her "friend".

"I'm just wondering whether he is upset and sobbing or is already looking for another girl," Darcy huffed.

"Maybe you shouldn't have broken up with him if you were this concerned," Musa suggested.

"No, he wasn't that satisfying anyways," Darcy said as if to reassure herself that she made the right decision in breaking up with him, or having Musa break up with him for her.

The two walked in silence until they reached the car. Even then the two remained silent on the drive towards the mall. Darcy had insisted Musa go because they were going to go to a club the same night and Darcy didn't approve of Musa's clubbing clothes. It wasn't Musa's fault that she wasn't that into dresses, much less the tight bandage dresses that like to constrict the body in all aspects and make it uncomfortable.

The duo made it to the mall without clawing each other's faces off and headed into the air conditioned mall. The coolness of the mall was refreshing from the staunching heat that was radiating off of the pavement in the parking lot. It was also refreshing to not be in the sun's deadly rays of warmth.

"Oh this is so cute," Darcy squealed pointing to the low-cut, tight red bandage dress. Darcy had made a beeline for her favorite store and had, of course, picked out the most revealing dress on the rack.

"It's nice," Musa mumbled. She looked around on the rack to find something that appealed to her. After a few misses she found a black peplum dress that had a high cut top, thick straps and fell to right above her knees. The back was low cut and was covered by black lace.

"How about this one?" Musa called over to Darcy, "for me anyways."

"Eh, how about this one? Boys will be flocking you like crazy," Darcy lifted up a nude short dress.

"I think I'm going to get this one," Musa replied.

"Musa, think outside the box a little. We're going to an exclusive club and you want to wear that?" Darcy pointed to the dress in Musa's hands.

"I like it," Musa adamantly stated.

"Okay, but buy this one too just in case," Darcy came over and shoved the nude dress in Musa's arms. It was a short dress that would fall well above Musa's knees. It had two thin straps and was low cut. The nude dress was made out of a fabric that shimmered in the light. It was a bandage dress and showed the bandages.

"Fine," Musa conceded.

The girls continued to walk around the store. Darcy's arms filled with dresses, shirts, and shorts while Musa's arms carried a paltry amount of clothes. Musa had the black peplum dress, the nude dress and a few blouses.

"Aren't you having fun?" Darcy asked, looking over at Musa who was trying not to yell from frustration and a general dislike for shopping.

"So much fun," Musa smiled, although behind the cheery expression was a load of sarcasm waiting to be opened.

"Come on, we have to get shoes," Darcy grabbed Musa and pulled her towards the shoe store.

Musa followed behind, her feet slightly dragging on the tile in the mall.

"Oh, I love these," Darcy lifted up a pair of six inch heels. They were strappy and were black.

"Get them," Musa stated the obvious.

Musa roamed her eyes through the rows of shoes until she found what she was looking for. She found a pair of black pumps. They were about five inches high and had an inch platform. The back of the shoes had red lacing. The lacing was made of red silk and was cris-crossed and then tied in a bow.

"I like these ones," Musa picked up the shoes.

"Those are nice. Get these for that nude dress," Darcy handed Musa a pair of nude strappy high heels. They were really high and although cute they would probably induce a sprained ankle for whoever wore them.

"Fine," Musa conceded again. She wasn't in the mood to fight Darcy on the matter. Luckily with the new album she had extra cash that was lying around that she could use.

The girls left the store with purchases in hand and much to Musa's dismay, Darcy just had to go to the makeup shop to grab "something" which turned into a lot of things. Of course Musa was dragged into getting eyeliner, mascara, eye shadow and other products. Musa was beginning to feel the effects of the day and was getting more irritable by the second.

"We need accessories," Darcy noted looking down into the various shopping bags she was carrying and noticing that they did not carry any jewelry.

"I think I'm going to go to the food court. You go on ahead. I'll meet you over there," Musa said as she darted out of Darcy's reach and headed over to heaven, away from the shopping madness.

"Musa," a voice caught her attention and she turned towards it.

"Hey Andy, this is the second time this week that I've seen you outside of your music shop," Musa commented.

"I know. Mitzy has been forcing me to escape my solitude and has made me participate more in outside activities, this one being going to the mall with her to shop," Andy said walking up to where Musa was standing.

"Darcy dragged me here. We're apparently going out tonight so she's forced me to buy new clothes for the occasion," Musa grumbled in annoyance.

"If Darcy is anything like Mitzy, I feel sorry for you. Mitzy has been here for over two hours. I followed her for a bit, but then I just couldn't take it anymore so I came here to grab something to eat," Andy explained.

"Same. I was getting sick of shopping. It doesn't suit me that well," Musa laughed.

"Come on, let's get something to eat. After you," Andy gestured with his hand for her to go ahead of him.

They got their food and then proceeded to make their way to a small table on the side of the food court.

"Are we ready for next Saturday," Musa asked between French fries.

"I think so. You know the set list right?" Andy questioned, taking a sip of his coke.

"Well, I'm not completing the whole set, but yes, I know the songs I will have to be singing," Musa replied.

"So why couldn't you perform this weekend?" Andy couldn't help but ask.

"I'm going out of town," Musa said simply.

"Where to?"

"Um, Los Angeles," Musa replied.

"That sounds fun," Andy commented, but didn't ask in depth questions.

"Hopefully," Musa mumbled. She really did hope that it wouldn't be as stressful as the last recording session was. Her manager was there and there was a ton of pressure riding on her to be her best. Unfortunately it happened that she was also sick that day. Luckily, she was able to push through and had a decent recording session, luckily.

"Andy," a voice yelled over to the two friends.

"That would be Mitzy," Andy remarked, not bothering to look over his shoulder.

"Getting sick of her already?" Musa chuckled.

"No necessarily, she's just a high maintenance girlfriend," Andy said through a mouth full of sandwich.

"It was your decision to date her," Musa shrugged without remorse for the man in front of her.

"Andy, what are you doing?" Mitzy came upon the duo.

"I'm eating with my friend," Andy said, gulping down part of his sandwich.

"Hi Musa," Mitzy barely acknowledged the presence of the girl that was sitting across the table from her boyfriend.

"Mitzy," Musa nodded in Mitzy's direction.

"Are you ready to go?" Mitzy asked.

"Yeah I guess so," Andy said wiping his mouth with a napkin.

"I'll see you later Andy," Musa said her goodbyes. Andy waved goodbye and both he and Mitzy walked out of the food court together.

Musa stayed sitting and pulled out her phone. She had received a text from Darcy saying that she was almost done.

* * *

"Musa are you ready?" Darcy called from outside the oak door.

Musa turned to look at herself in the mirror again. She had decided to wear the black peplum dress and the black pumps, despite Darcy's objections.

"Yeah," Musa turned and grabbed the clutch she would be carrying with her. She took a cautious step in the heels. She was more used to wearing her flat soled shoes that were the comfiest thing in her closet. Musa wobbled a little bit before taking a deep breath and taking a more confident step towards the hallway.

"Let's go," Musa said as she walked up behind Darcy. Darcy was wearing a purple dress that fit very tightly on her body. It had triangle cutouts right beneath her breast line and the back and the front were low cut. The dress ended about eight inches above her knees. Her shoes were t-straps and had large amethyst jewels on the straps. They were a good six inches high.

"I thought I told you to wear the nude one," Darcy chided Musa.

"I didn't want to wear the nude one. I like this one," Musa said, pulling on the hemming of the dress.

"Whatever, don't blame me if you don't meet anyone," Darcy shook out her slightly curled hair and walked towards the door, "come on," Darcy called from outside of the apartment.

Musa rolled her eyes in annoyance and followed the brunette out the door.

The car ride was filled with nonsense chatter. Darcy talked about how Jared had become overbearing and clingy while Musa listened patiently like she always did. Musa commented on how her music career was going, although she held it to singing with Andy's band and didn't mention her record deal or new album.

The girls arrived at the club, parked and walked up to the line to get into the club. Darcy was able to get them in easily despite not being on "the list".

"Ooh, hot guy at three o'clock. I'll see you later?" Darcy purred.

Musa nodded her head and instead made her way to the bar while Darcy pranced off towards the "hot" guy. Musa assumed that Darcy would probably get a bunch of numbers, hook up a few times in the bathroom and eventually decide to go home with a guy. It always happened whenever they went clubbing. Usually Musa met a few people, but most were horny and only looking for sex so she left after having brief conversations. She liked to hang out by herself in the corner of the club. She reached the bar and ordered a coke. Musa wasn't into the whole drinking scene and liked to be sober for big events.

After getting her coke she made her way over to the corner so that she could watch people making fools of themselves. She loved to dance, but felt embarrassed to dance by herself. Darcy never really hung out with her once they made it to the club. A body appeared before Musa throwing her off a bit.

"Hi, Musa right?" Layla asked.

"Layla right?" Musa said nodding.

"Yeah, I thought that was you. Stella made me come to this," Layla turned and pointed around the club.

"Where is Stella?" Musa asked.

"She's over there with her boyfriend Brandon," Layla pointed over to the bar area.

"Is your whole group here too?"

"They're hanging with their boyfriends," Layla said, a shadow casting over her eyes.

"So where's your boyfriend?" Musa questioned, curiosity getting the better of her.

"I don't have one. That's why Stella dragged me here. I would dance, but I don't like to dance alone," Layla groaned in displeasure at Stella's insistence that she hook up with somebody.

"If it's any consolation, I was dragged here because my friend wants me to hook up with someone, but like you they don't really help," Musa said.

"I take it you stand in the corner a lot then," Layla mused.

"Definitely. It's somewhat like a home for me whenever I go out clubbing. Hey, do you want to dance with a friend?" Musa suggested.

"Sure," Layla followed her new found friend onto the dance floor.

The two began to shake and shimmy to the music. The two new friends bonded over a common interest and were glad that they found someone who was in the same situation as them.

"Musa, what are you doing here?" Stella asked in delight. The gang, minus Tecna, had joined the dancing duo and was dancing along with the boyfriends.

"My friend dragged me," Musa laughed. Hanging out with Layla was actually enjoyable. The two had a lot in common like the fact that they usually didn't wear what they were wearing at the club. They also liked dancing and music.

"Hey Musa," Bloom danced her way over to the black haired girl.

"Hey Bloom," Musa hoped that she had picked the right name.

"This is Sky," Bloom made a gesture with her head towards the blonde haired guy that had his hands on her waist.

"Boyfriend?" Musa asked.

"Yup," Bloom nodded in response.

There was also Tecna and Timmy, although they were off looking at the sound system and discussing the technology behind the system, and Flora and Helia that was with the group.

"Musa," Darcy purred from Musa's right.

"Oh hey Darcy," Musa turned to greet her friend.

"I'm going to leave with Liam," Darcy informed Musa so that Musa would not have to drive Darcy home. Musa looked over Darcy's shoulder to where Liam was standing. She had never seen the guy before.

"Okay," Musa said quickly. Darcy spun around and slipped her arm in between Liam's arm.

Musa stayed at the club for another hour to hang out with the girls. They were really a nice group and their boyfriends, although protective of their girlfriends, were pretty cool too, in Musa's eyes. After leaving the club Musa made her way home.

Upon arriving at home, Musa stumbled to her room and finally collapsed onto her bed in exhaustion. She didn't bother getting into her pajamas, but instead just kicked off her shoes and snuggled under her covers. It had been a long day and she was finally getting the rest she deserved, after dealing with Stella, Riven, Darcy, Andy, Mitzy, Darcy again, and Stella and her friends again.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **So there's a texting scene in this and I'm the kind of person that texts without acronyms so that's how I wrote it out. I'm open to any reviews (good or bad). I cut it off/made a cliff-hanger because I'm still thinking of where I want it to go and I think I'm almost there (if you have suggestions feel free to coment). Enjoy!

"Do I really need to go through it again?" Musa moaned and leaned her forehead on the cool, white, wall.

"Do you want the album to sound good?" her manager, Jason asked as he crossed him arms in front of his chest.

"At this point I don't care," Musa backed away from the wall and threw her hands up in exasperation.

"You should care," Jason chided.

"Well I'm too tired to," Musa shot back. She had been singing for a straight two hours and it was beginning to upset her vocal cords, not to mention the fact that she had taken a red-eye flight to LA which, in hindsight, probably was not the best decision she could have made.

"That wasn't my fault," Jason replied. They were standing inside the recording booth, he had come in after she was finished singing the second to last song on the track. It wasn't that he was displeased with the way she sang it, there just wasn't enough emotion that was characteristic of her other songs.

"Ugh," Musa groaned and rubbed her eyes to try and wake herself.

"Come on," he gestured with his head towards the door. He walked over and opened the heavy door and kept it open so that she could enter the other part of the recording booth where the sound system was.

Musa walked through the door and stepped to the side to allow him to enter as well.

"Sit," he ordered and pointed to an empty plush, leather, swivel chair.

"Fine," she conceded as she let herself sink into one of the chairs. As she sat down she let out an overdue sigh.

"Here," Jason went over to the mini fridge in the back of the room and got out an ice cold water.

"Thanks," Musa replied as she took the bottle from her hand.

"So why is there no emotion in that last song?" he leaned his back against the wall, opposite of where she sat.

"What do you mean?"

"You're missing the emotion your songs usually have," Jason shrugged as he uncapped his own water.

"It had emotion," Musa insisted.

"It was devoid of emotion," Jason rolled his eyes.

"The song was the only one that I didn't write," Musa crossed her arms and contorted her face into a child-like pout.

"All of the other ones were about lost loves, liking your bestfriend's guy, and wanting someone who doesn't want you, it got kind of depressing," he analyzed her recent album.

"Thank you for calling my life depressing. I wrote them about my life for a reason, I can connect to it and show emotion. This song talks about being in love and having a love forever. That hasn't happened to me yet," she explained to him. It was true; the recent album was all about how nothing has gone in her favor in her love life.

"Well imagine that it has. Picture that you are with someone and sing about how you would feel," he suggested. He wasn't sure how to go about this, it wasn't like he could keep the song off the album, and without it the album was pretty depressing.

"That's easier said than done," Musa huffed.

"Work with me here," he pleaded. It had been a long day and he could tell that he wasn't going to get much more out of her.

"Fine, I'll try it again," Musa rolled her eyes and took a last swig of her water before heading back into the recording booth.

"Okay, give me a second," Jason said through the microphone. Musa adjusted her weight on her right hip and gave him an annoyed look.

"Okay, it's starting," Jason cued the music.

Musa tried her best to picture herself in a relationship. Without her mind really concentrating on it, her imagination pictured her on a beach. She could hear the waves crashing along the shore as she sang the first verse about the song. It was about someone finally getting the love they deserved. Musa closed her eyes to hone in on the scene that was playing out in her head. As she sang into the next verse she could vaguely make out a figure coming up to sit beside her on the beach. In her imagination she saw a tall man with magenta hair. He was built well and you could tell her was in shape because of the well defined abs that he was sporting on his bare chest. Musa took a deep breath as she sang out the chorus. The man with the magenta hair reached over and moved a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her face to the side and then behind her ear.

Musa smiled with her eyes still closed as her imagination and daydream went forward. She got to the verse about being in love and her dream switched to a different setting, this time in front of the Eiffel Tower. A man, this time with black hair, bent down on one knee and lifted up a small blue velvet box and opened it in front of her face. Inside was a diamond ring.

Once Musa got back to the chorus she opened her eyes and smiled at her dreams. She didn't have love now, but at least she could dream about it. She swayed to the beat of the song and put in crescendos and decrescendos when necessary. Her imagination had done its work and had given her some inspiration to insert emotion into the song.

Musa took a step back from the microphone when the song finished with the final notes and looked expectantly at the door.

Sure enough, Jason walked through the door, only this time he was clapping rather than giving her a disappointed look.

"That was perfect," Jason enthusiastically said.

"Great," Musa said, her mind crashing back to the reality that she didn't have the love that she had sung about.

"What were you thinking of?" he raised his eyebrows up at her.

"None of your business," she chuckled, "do I need to do it again? I don't think I can."

"Nope, you are finished," he reassured her.

"Good," she let out a sigh of relief.

"But you do have one more song," Jason reminded her.

"Yeah, but that will be easy. I wrote that one," Musa emphasized the fact that she penned the last song of the album.

"Well then you won't mind singing it," Jason turned around and went back into the sound booth.

Musa nodded and stepped up to the microphone. The song began to play and she began lacing her words with the music.

"You are done for the day," Jason said to her as she collected her things from the sound booth.

"For the day?"

"For the day. You're sales for the first album have been really good, everyone seems to love you," he mused.

"Well that's good," Musa replied. It had never been about the money for her, she was just happy that people appreciated her realistic songs.

"That means concerts and memorabilia and paraphernalia," he said gleefully.

"Okay Jason," Musa shook her head at his borderline childish and definitely greedy antics.

"I can't help the fact that I'm happy that my client will be raking it in," he said with a smile on his face.

"You know it's not about the money for me," Musa reminded him.

"Sure, sure, but think about it, you're going to be rich," he gave an expression that said he was calculating numbers in his head.

"Whatever Jason. I'll see you later," Musa said as she opened up the sound booth door and walked out into the hallway of the building.

She felt something vibrate in her bag and took out her phone. Sure enough there was a text message from somebody. She gasped in surprise when she saw that the message was from none other than Riven.

**Hey **

She typed back a simple response. She wasn't even sure what he wanted.

What's up?

Her phone vibrated again and she looked down to read the text.

**Not much. Bored. Want to go somewhere?**

She couldn't help but be confused. She didn't think that he thought much of her. They were friends, but she didn't think that they were this good of friends, but there had been the day where he willing went with her and she took him to the amusement park. Granted he hadn't been himself that day.

Can't, I'm in LA.

**When're you getting back?**

Tonight

Musa had flown in on a red-eye and was going to be flying out later that night. It was indeed a long day for her.

**When?**

Round 10?

**Will you be too tired to go to the club?**

There was only one club in Gardenia that was worth going to and Musa assumed that that was the club Riven was talking about. It just seemed highly unlike him to be texting her and asking her if she could go somewhere. Even if they did hang out it would be because Darcy hadn't shown up or would be late.

Probably.

**What about tomorrow?**

Don't know yet

**I'll text you.**

Okay

Musa slipped her phone back into her purse and walked out into the parking lot of the building. She hadn't been sure of what to say to him and it had just felt weird so she decided that she would just wait until she actually got to Gardenia to question why he had texted her.

* * *

Musa stepped off the plane with a really bad headache. It wasn't that the flight was long; it was that the person next to her kept talking and rattling on about unimportant topics. The man that sat behind her bid her adieu and walked towards his right. Musa thanked the heavens that he was going in the direction that she didn't need to go. She pulled on the straps of her backpack and headed off to the left.

When she made it to the spot where people greet their friends and family she couldn't help but be surprised by what she say. Riven was standing by the door, looking rather awkward; he was bouncing from one foot to another.

"What are you doing here?" Musa asked slowly as she approached him with caution.

He held up the six-pack in his hand.

"I brought beer," he said. After his comment he rubbed his face with his palm and made a disgruntled noise.

"I mean, I figured you could you a friend and I need to talk," Riven said.

Musa looked him up and down and let out a laugh.

"You look so out of place," Musa said through a giggle.

"Gee thanks," Riven ran his hand through his hair, but smiled nonetheless.

"So what do you need to talk about?" Musa started walking. Riven turned around to follow her.

"It's not like you to want to talk," Musa said after some thought.

"Yeah I know," Riven replied, but didn't give an explanation.

"So what kind of beer?" Musa asked, peering over to look at what he was holding.

"I don't know. Some craft beer," Riven shrugged.

"Well you're a joy to be around," Musa pulled at the straps on her backpack.

"Sorry, I'm just thinking," he said. He was definitely somewhere else, but Musa just shrugged and continued to walk.

"Did you drive here?" Riven asked.

"No, I got a cab," Musa replied. She was looking down at her feet, making sure they were walking where she wanted them to and to avoid eye contact with the man walking next to her. She had been daydreaming about him anyways. She couldn't figure out who the man with the black hair was though which plagued her mind.

"Can we, uh, hang at my apartment? I just don't want to run into Darcy," Riven stuttered. It was awkward enough asking if she would hang out with them and then he had to mention Darcy.

"Oh, right. Yeah that's fine," Musa said. She didn't ask him what it was exactly that he needed to talk about. She knew he wouldn't answer until they were somewhere private and knew that he wasn't much for talking anyways.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note: This may not be the best because I am suffering from a case of writer's block, but we'll see how it goes. This chapter maybe the worst or it could be the best. Keep checking back for edits on this chapter, just in case I decided to scrap it and go with something else. Side note: If I get any previous details wrong please tell me, I haven't worked on this story in a while so my memory of what I wrote may be wrong and there may be discrepancies that I will fix. Thanks and ENJOY!**

LightestStars: Thanks for the suggestion. I think I wanted them to emote as little emotion as possible because I feel that it'd be really awkward to text each other and they wouldn't know exactly what to say, but I'll work on making them friendlier if I use another texting dialogue. Thanks!

* * *

The pair made their way quietly up the stairs to Riven's apartment. He held the beer in his right hand and it keep swinging back and forth, occasionally hitting his thigh. Once they reached his apartment door, Riven reached into his pocket and took out the key. The key hung from a red lanyard. He slipped it into the lock and turned, opening the door. Without saying a word, he gestured with his hand for her to go first. She had never really been over at his place, only coming over there to pick up Darcy when Darcy's car was broken.

Musa slowly made her way into the apartment and looked around. It was a small one person flat, but despite not being large it was charming. She walked over to the couch and sat down. He followed her and set the pack of beer on the table. Riven then continued on to the kitchen to grab a bottle opener. While he was rummaging around in the kitchen, Musa leaned over and grabbed one of the beers from the cardboard carrier. She was really craving alcohol and after all she had been through she felt that she deserved it.

"Here," Riven mumbled, coming back with the bottle opener.

"Thanks," Musa said, taking it from his outstretched hand. He sat down next to her on the couch and grabbed his own bottle of beer.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Musa asked, turning to look at him. It was the first time she actually looked him head on that night. He seemed like himself, but something was off and she couldn't quite put her finger on what it was. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt with cargo shorts and black and white converse.

Musa looked down at her own attire and suppressed a laugh at the way she looked. She was wearing comfy, over sized navy blue sweatpants and had on a white gym shirt.

"You'll probably be mad and won't want to talk about it," he shrugged, unsure of what her actual reaction would be.

"What is it?" she asked, wondering if she should have actually asked that question considering she had a feeling of dread.

"I want to talk about why you didn't warn me about Darcy," he turned to look at her. He felt something poke his heart, but being mostly apathetic, he wasn't sure what it was. He was in awe of her. She may have been wearing something that wasn't attractive in her eyes, but to him it made her look like the epitome of someone he would fall in love with, though he would never admit it to himself or anyone else.

"What do mean, how I didn't warn you?" Musa narrowed her eyes at him.

Riven gulped and was even more unsure of how to continue with the topic he wanted to discuss so badly.

"I mean, you were her roommate, shouldn't you have, you know, warned me about her," he mumbled in an almost inaudible voice.

"Oh don't try to pin this on me," Musa said, her voice growing cold. She took a swig from the bottle of alcohol and then looked at him again.

"I, er, I'm not trying," he stuttered.

"You're trying to pin your own failings on me. Other people warned you, didn't they? It's not like this town is that large. Besides I barely even knew you," Musa hissed. The last statement was a lie, but she figured he would never have figured it out. She knew him when they were younger. They had been neighbors and they had been playmates, but then she had moved away and they never saw each other again, until Riven had started to date Darcy.

"I didn't mean it like that," Riven sighed and drank from his own bottle.

"Well it sounded like you did mean it like that," Musa said pointedly.

"Sorry I even brought it up."

"I guess I was sorry that I was harsh, but you deserved some of it," she gave him a little smile to let him know that it didn't bother her as much as he thought it did. It annoyed her a little, but she could get past that annoyance.

"Do you feel like watching a movie?" he questioned. They had done it so many times when Darcy hadn't shown so it wasn't really weird for them.

"Sure," Musa nodded. It wasn't like she had anything better to do that late at night, plus she wasn't sure if Darcy had brought someone home or not even though she knew Musa was going to get there that night.

"Which one?" Riven asked, going over to the cabinet beneath his TV.

"Doesn't matter," Musa shrugged nonchalantly and then leaned back into the plush of the couch.

Riven popped in a random disk and went back to join her on the couch.

About two hours, a movie, and a whole ten pack, split between the pair, later both were inebriated and slightly out of it.

"Do you remember the time when, when, Darcy didn't show and we ended up going out to lunch at that, that place?" Musa hiccupped. She was more of a talkative drunk.

"Yeah, that place was awesome," Riven slurred. He, like her, was also a bit more talkative and outgoing when he was drunk.

"Then we had the competition of who could eat more and, and I beat you," Musa giggled. Her head was resting on the cushion behind her back and her feet were up on the coffee table in front of the couch. Riven was sitting next to her in the position.

"You ate like fifty plates of spaghetti that day," Riven over exaggerated a bit.

"I know," Musa garbled.

"I ate like sixty plates though," he cackled.

"No, no, no. I won that contest. I beat you and won. I beat you and I ate more food," Musa lifted her head and turned to face him. She slapped him on the arm to emphasize her point.

"You didn't win," he heaved himself into an upright sitting position.

"Yeah I did," Musa insisted, her voice stumbling over every word.

The pair was drunk beyond saving and was on its way to something happening that it would regret later.

"No," he shot back.

"Yes," she stuck her tongue out at him.

He laughed and couldn't stop his laughter as he clutched his stomach from the spasms.

"What's so funny?" she slurred.

"You're acting like a seven year old," he fell back onto the couch and started to laugh.

"Am not," Musa huffed and folded her arms across her chest. She gave her best rendition of a pouting face at him, bottom lip sticking out and all.

"Are too," he chortled.

"You're a big, a big, meany," she attempted to insult him in her inebriated state.

"You're using such big words," he laughed. Riven was not only talkative when he was drunk, but he was also sarcastic and a bit mean.

"You're a bully," she whined.

"You're a little kindergartener," he teased.

"Would a kindergartener do this?" she asked and then reached over, grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulled him in close and then smashed her lips against his. At first, neither really knew what was happening and both were at a standstill with their lips pressed up against the other's lips.

Neither was sure what happened next or what compelled them to go on. Call it fate, call it a drunken state or call it whatever you feel is correct, it happened and would be forever engrained in their brains.

Riven reached his hand around to caress her neck and pried her lips open with his tongue. What began as an innocent drunken fight became a full out makeout session as he guided her to lay down on the couch, his body pressed into hers. She already had her eyes closed and removed one hand to wrap it around his broad shoulders.

In the kiss, Riven could feel the passion emanating from the girl that he was hovering over.

He slowly pulled back and brushed the hair away from Musa's face.

"I think I'm drunk," Musa hiccupped, averting her eyes to the ceiling so that she wouldn't have to look at him.

"I think I am too," he replied, but shamelessly went back in for seconds. She was caught off guard by his movement, but nonetheless allowed him to kiss her.

The next time they broke apart was due to Musa pushing softly on his chest to make him release her from his grasp. He attempted to look into her eyes to see what she was feeling, but like the first time, she averted her eyes to the ceiling.

She could feel the pressure building up in her chest. It felt like there was a volcano in her chest that would erupt at any moment. Musa felt the unsteady pounding of her heart and could feel the thumps against her ribcage.

Riven was slowly trying to catch his breath. All he could think about was her. The way she always looked like she was paying attention to everything. The way her voice sounded like the soft, calming waves of the ocean. He wasn't sure which emotion he felt as he could feel all of them at once, which overwhelmed him like a tsunami washing over him.

"I think I should go," Musa snapped him back to reality. She sounded as sober as ever and pushed him even farther away from her. Once she had heaved herself off of the couch she grabbed her belongings and made her way quickly to the door before he could stop her, leaving him to wonder what his feelings for her truly were.

* * *

Musa felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, but ignored it. The piece of technology had been going off all morning with mainly texts or phone calls from Riven. There had been a ton of messages, which led her to believe that he was seriously obsessing over what had happened while she just wanted to forget it and move on in her life. She continued attempting to convince herself that she no longer had feelings for the magenta haired male, but she couldn't completely shake the emotions she felt out of her system.

"Musa?" a voice snapped Musa from her thoughts.

"Hey," Musa turned around.

"What are you doing here?" the girl gestured at the café Musa was holed up in. It was probably the one place that Riven wouldn't have found her. The last message she had gotten was a "we need to talk" message and she definitely was not in the mood to see him, much less talk to him about the situation they had found themselves in.

"I'm just hanging and trying out some new song lyrics," Musa cheerfully replied to Layla, one of Stella's friends.

"Can I have a look?" Layla asked, coming to sit in the chair opposite of Musa's.

"Sure," Musa slid the papers to the other side of the table.

Layla carefully read the lyrics, adding in "hmms" and "uh huhs" along the way.

"I really like these," Layla said, handing them back to Musa/

"Thanks."

"Where did you get the inspiration from?" Layla wondered out loud.

"Do you mean, do I have a guy friend that I'm in love with but will never be with because he doesn't like me even though actions would speak otherwise? No, that'd be preposterous. I get my inspiration from other people's relationships I guess. I'm too big on my own love life," Musa half lied and half told the truth.

Layla let out a chuckle.

"Well, whatever you're using as inspiration, those lyrics are amazing," Layla complimented Musa.

"Thanks," Musa nodded at her table companion, "so what are you up to today?" Musa inquired.

"Nothing much. I'm getting some drinks for my co-workers," Layla shrugged nonchalantly.

"Oh, sounds fun," Musa smiled, "well don't let me keep you. I'll see you around," she bided adieu.

"See you around," Layla echoed before she got up to walk over to the counter to order her drinks.

Musa heard the bell on the door to the café ring, but continued reading the lyrics that she had written down. She looked up when she heard the chair across from her being pulled out and noticed a body sitting down in her peripheral vision.

When she saw who it was, her heart sank and started beating quicker. She could feel the emotions she was repressing start to make their way to the surface of her being.

"We need to talk," the gruff, husky voice from the male sitting across from her spoke.

"I really don't think we do," she hurriedly replied and scrambled to get her lyrics together so that he wouldn't see that what had happened between them had, indeed, been on her mind.

"Musa," he begged. He wasn't sure what they would talk about or how it would go, but something inside of him told him that they did need to have a discussion on where to go from there.

"Riven, I'm really not in the mood," Musa said, her eyes looking around the café for an escape route.

"Well get in the mood because I have been searching everywhere for you. It was just a coincidence that I needed some coffee that I came in here and found you," he told her.

She mentally cursed his need for caffeine.

"What is there to talk about?" Musa asked, playing coy and pretending nothing happened.

"You know what there is to talk about," he sighed. One of the papers containing her lyrics was still on the table and he reached over to grab it before she could snatch it away from him. He looked at the paper and read the lyrics.

"Judging by this," he waved the music in the air, "you've been thinking about what happened too."

Musa wanted to disappear into the woodwork. He had read something personal and had uncovered her bluff. She placed her forehead on the table in front of her and screamed in her mind, mentally cursing herself for getting drunk, him and his caffeine, and her and her song lyrics.

"So what if I was thinking about it?" she asked lifting her head. Her voice would sound like stone, if stone could talk.

"Well, don't you think we should talk about it?" he asked hesitantly. Musa gave him a puzzled expression. He wasn't normally one to talk about his feelings, especially with the person he may or may not have been having feelings for.

"What?" he inquired, looking at her quizzical expression.

"You never want to talk about anything," she stated matter-of-factly.

"So?"

"You want to talk about it now? Are you sure you're okay? Are you sure you're Riven?" she leaned across and poked him in the cheek to be sure that he was real.

"I just want these emotions to be lifted off my shoulders," he mumbled, suddenly anxious about what she would think about him. He was uncomfortable after she pointed out that he, indeed, did not like talking about anything, ever.

"Yeah, well, welcome to life," she said sarcastically.

"What did you think of them," he muttered through his clenched teeth. It was extremely hard for him to even form a coherent sentence when it came to talking about the dreaded feelings.

"Of what?" she asked.

"I don't know. What did you feel?" he grumbled. He looked around the café, suddenly paranoid that everyone was listening in and seeing how much of a baby and a chicken he really was.

"I don't really know what to tell you," Musa said. She wasn't the best at talking about feelings either. She would normally just bottle them up and play it cool.

"So you just want to ignore it then?" he asked, unsure of what he was trying to ask and unsure of what she was trying to tell him.

"Sure. Let's just pretend it never happened and go back to our painfully oblivious lives," she muttered. She couldn't help but let a little sarcasm slip into her response.

"Okay then, I guess I'll see you later then?" he hesitantly questioned.

"Sure, I'll see you later," Musa nodded and watched him get up from the table and walk out the door.

The whole entire time she just wanted to scream at him to realize that she had feelings for him, but how was he to know if she had never really given him real hints. The hints she had given him weren't strong enough and made him believe that she was just being friendly.

It also annoyed her that he was okay with pretending it didn't happen, even if she was being a little hypocritical, considering she didn't want to talk about what had happened either.


End file.
